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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Every Day Delicious everyday cooking is usually anything but easy. It’s cooking against the clock. It’s cooking with what’s on hand. It’s cooking within a budget. It’s cooking to please a range of tastes. It’s a challenge, for me and pretty much every cook I know. But because we’re cooks, we appreciate how rewarding it is to come home at the end of a long day and head for the kitchen. We may have little time and even fewer ingredients, but hey, we’ll come up with something. This issue is packed with ideas that will make the midweek cooking challenge easy. Well, easier. Consider chicken breasts. Since they’re quick to cook, appealing to most, and versatile, we all tend to buy them regularly. The thing is, they can be boring. We wanted easy chicken recipes that surprised us, and we got them when we added height-of-summer produce, including peaches, green beans, and cucumbers (page 70). These are chicken makeovers you’ll want to get home and cook—our goal for this and every story here. Meatless grilling Great grilling doesn’t have to revolve around burgers and steaks. Whether you keep your Mondays meatless or have a vegetarian in the family, we’ve got easy solutions to grilling minus the beef. Think pizza with grilled beets, fi gs, and goat cheese, grilled vegetables that become a rich pasta sauce, and grilled chickpea burgers, to name a few (page 38). Better leftovers Cooking with leftovers in mind is a smart way to get a head start on a weekday meal or two. That’s the premise behind our regular Cook Once, Eat Twice story, which features two sides of salmon in this issue (page 54). Grill both and have one for Sunday’s supper; then turn the other into any of three great meals, including a spectacular main-course salmon salad that comes together in 30 minutes. Lunch plans It’s easy to get stuck in a rut when it comes to lunch, making the same sandwich every day or hitting the same salad bar. We’ve got four easy strategies for thinking outside the lunchbox and packing up a meal you’ll actually look forward to eating at your desk (page 62). Of course, we haven’t forgotten the weekend, when the clock slows down and the cooking is easy. If yours includes a trip to the farmers’ market, load up on berries and make the cover recipe, our best version of strawberry shortcake. Ever. As it happens, the leftovers make a great Monday morning breakfast. More Fine Cooking Books from Our Contributors Four of our regular writers have new books worth checking out. From Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough comes Goat: Meat, Milk, Cheese (Stewart, Tabori & Chang), a “nose to udder” celebration of what might be called the next big thing. Sustainable, economic, and delicious, goat is the world’s primary source of meat—and well worth discovering. Domenica Marchetti’s The Glorious Pasta of Italy (Chronicle Books) is a mouthwatering ode to the traditional mainstay of Italian cuisine. Her recipes are simple but sublime, and cover regional specialties, family favorites, and modern interpretations. In Sear, Sauce, and Serve (Run- ning Press), Tony Rosenfeld simplifies weeknight cooking. First, he uses high heat to grill, sauté, broil, or stir-fry meat and vegetables quickly; then he makes a delicious, easy sauce to serve alongside. Dinner, done in minutes. Fine Cooking Special Issues GRILLING Our special collection of more than 75 triple-tested grilling recipes and expert techniques will help you fire up the grill with confidence. On sale June 14. Laurie Buckle, editor fc@taunton.com Follow me on @fc_Laurie PICNICS & COOKOUTS Take it outside with this summery recipe collection, which includes killer sandwiches, ribs, slaws, and packable sweets and drinks. On sale June 28. 6 FINE COOKING • JUNE/ JULY 201 1 Photograph by Colin Clark